


Everyone Is Safe Here

by constellayetion



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Azula wins the Agni Kai, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But Aang still defeats Ozai, Gen, Zuko whump, but mostly zuko, not zutara, tbh this actually is everyone whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:08:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25500370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/constellayetion/pseuds/constellayetion
Summary: “Katara.” His hand latched around her wrist, yanking her back into the present moment, the scorching pain of the heated stone of the courtyard, Zuko’s skin cracking, looking straight into her eyes, completely resolute, “Katara. You have to leave me.”She kept hold of his wrist, “Zuko, I’m not going to do that, there has to be something.”Then, her hand erupted into pain.Zuko spat more fire, singing the edge of her skirt and repeated it as an order.“Leave.”///Azula wins the Agni Kai. Katara escapes. Zuko doesn't.
Comments: 24
Kudos: 235





	Everyone Is Safe Here

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, quick lil fic here. Here's a one shot that I couldn't get out of my head <3

They won. 

Katara lost. 

Zuko lost for her. 

She saw him hit the ground, blue lighting still crackling over his body. She ran to him but was blocked by another strike from Azula. 

Katara fumed, ready to show this bitch what Water Tribe was made of. She raised her hands in the air and...nothing. 

There was nothing. 

The air was dry, the heat even evaporating the sweat off her skin, there was _nothing_.

Another strike sent Katara sprawling and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glint of light. A metal grate that she ran for, falling down over it and…

It was empty. It had been drained. Even the water that had soaked into the stone had been blasted out of it. Katara could still see the char marks. 

Which meant… which meant… Azula had _known_. She had known that Katara was coming and if that was true then...there was no water here. Katara didn’t stand a chance. 

Azula had already won. 

Katara staggered back to Zuko, the heat in the air making her head swim.

“Zuko...Zuko there’s no water. Zuko, she got rid of it all. Zuko, she _knew_.” 

“Katara.” His hand latched around her wrist, yanking her back into the present moment, the scorching pain of the heated stone of the courtyard, Zuko’s skin cracking, looking straight into her eyes, completely resolute, “Katara. You have to leave me.” 

She kept hold of his wrist, “Zuko, I’m not going to do that, there has to be something.”

Then, her hand erupted into pain. 

Zuko spat more fire, singing the edge of her skirt and repeated it as an order. 

“ _Leave_.” 

///

She escaped. Azula, while deadly, was also easy to distract, off her game and more prone to chasing ghosts down empty alleyways, screaming about nonsense. 

Katara would have pitied her if it wasn’t for...everything else. 

///

She spent days in the countryside. Hiding. Running. Her clothes became more ragged as she ran herself more and more into exhaustion. She couldn’t sleep, she had to be ready, she wanted to _fight_ and no one would find her weak again. 

The comet was gone. If anyone came after her, Katara was not going to hold back. 

///

She spent days wandering. Stealing. Destroying any evidence of a military she came across, from tanks to shipments of blasting powder to messenger hawk posts (sparing the animals, of course). 

She was sure she was leaving enough of a trail, but she didn’t care. If they wanted to come after her, it would be their loss, not hers.

And they would lose. 

Five days in, a man came up to her. Older, in a long white robe. 

A stick cracked at the edge of where she rested and within moments she had an ice dagger pressing into his neck, a semi-circle of water floating behind her, prepared for _anything_. 

Well, almost anything. 

She was not prepared for him to drop to the ground in a bow, his forehead pressing into dirt and call her _Master Katara_. 

“If this is a trick, it’s not one you want me to fall for.” 

“It is no trick, Master Katara! We would like to help you. We work for the Grand Lotus, who freed Ba Sing Se during the comet—”

_That was new information_

“—Look, I have…” he fumbled in his robes, “this!” 

There, he held up a tile, from some board game. Katara gestured for him to throw it and twitched one finger before it was enveloped in water and brought back for her to inspect. 

It looked...familiar? Somehow? Like it was… 

Suddenly, Katara realized where she had seen it. It was the same tile that Master Piandao had given Sokka. The one that had confused them all. But Piandao was trustworthy, had known who all of them were and never given them up which meant…

Katara grasped him by his forearm and pulled him to standing. It was a Water Tribe greeting. A warrior’s greeting, that she had seen her dad do so many times before.  
“Take me to them.” 

///

Sokka was a wreck. 

Like, a proper wreck. 

Like, he usually was kinda a wreck, but now he was a _Wreck_. 

Katara was missing. Zuko was missing. His father was missing. Azula was still alive and kicking and _Fire Lord_. Presumably, at least. Considering that the Ba Sing Se government had custody of the previous Fire Lord. 

And now, the world was a mess. The colonies were rioting, starting with Haru’s village and spreading up every major road. Stories of ‘Freedom Fighters’ (who may or may not be affiliated with the former freedom fighters) were striking against major Fire Nation outposts. Water Tribe ships were spotted taking down naval fleets which couldn’t even be identified as part of Hakoda’s fleet since the Northern Water Tribe had joined the fight, starting at the top of the world and clearing south of any traces of the Fire Nation’s holdings. 

It was a mess. It was a good mess. For anyone who wasn’t Team Avatar since Team Avatar was a...mess. 

Sokka thought back to when they all knew.

Appa came back alone. 

They had been camped near the battleground, Sokka’s leg barely in a splint, Aang passed out as soon as Ozai was taken away by White Lotus officials, Toph and Suki were both trying to keep it together but it was clear how shaken they were. They were all waiting, anxiously, for their missing pieces to return. 

The next morning, Aang was the first to spot him. He was just a speck in the sky, but Aang still woke them up, squawking that Zuko and Katara were coming back. 

Which had roused them all immediately. Sokka was so happy he could cry, spirits, he might have, so happy that all of them had made it out, maybe not unscathed but intact. 

Suki was the first to realize something was wrong. 

Aang was still bouncing around, rambling about how ‘this would truly be the start of everything being okay again, the Fire Nation was in the hands of someone good again and everything would be fine’ and she had to physically stop him. 

Holding his shoulders she said, “Aang, look at the saddle. It’s empty.” 

Which he denied, of course, they all did. He smiled at her and said, “Suki, they’re probably just sleeping or something, they had a big fight too. Appa knows how to fly himself. Hey boy!” He moved on to cooing at the sky bison as they all waited for his cargo to come down. 

But, it didn’t. 

“Hey, Sparky! Sweetness! Wake up, we’ve got shit to do!” Toph yelled up. Not that they did, but Toph seemed to feel safer in some kind of rush. 

No answer. 

Then Aang tried, “Hey, Katara, come on, we’ve got good news! We won! We got him! Zuko, I didn’t even have to kill him” his voice broke a little, but Aang kept smiling, “He’s fine! I took away his bending!” 

No answer. 

Sokka knew they were all looking at him, Suki, with her knowing frown, Aang’s wide eyes, even Toph, who shifted to grab Suki’s arm in a way she’d deny later. 

“Okay, yeah, c’mon Zuko this isn’t funny.” Sokka said, beginning to climb up Appa’s tail “Though, I will say, I’m proud of your foray into practical jokes. Hell of a time to try it out but—” 

The saddle was empty. 

They didn’t come back. 

///

So, Toph broke some stuff, Aang laid down and didn't get up for hours, Suki frowned and then started training again, push ups and sit ups and squats and sweat making her eyes so red. 

And Sokka planned. 

He got them to be able to sit for long enough to move them back to Ba Sing Se, where they immediately went back to their same activities in a part of the reclaimed palace. Suki trained, Toph broke things, and Aang just...laid there. Staring. Occasionally getting up to stare in a seated position. Then, lying back down to stare at the ceiling. 

Sokka kept planning. 

He met with officials. 

He checked how Ozai was being held. 

He gained the latest update on every resistance to the Fire Lord and sent messengers to all of them. 

And...he told Iroh. 

He had only met the man three times before, once when Yue died and Iroh, even on the other side of the war, tried to protect them all, once when he got shot with lighting and Team Avatar abandoned him, and once when they rescued his son. Well, no, not his son, when they rescued Zuko.

So, he knew three things about Iroh. 

One: He was a good man. 

Two: He loved Zuko more than anything. 

Three: He was deadly. 

So, Sokka was a little worried to tell him, especially after his friends' reactions and Toph’s continued destruction on any evidence of the Fire Nation _existing_ that remained in the city. 

Iroh had called him for tea. 

So, Sokka showed up, tired, frazzled, but put on a smile for the General, the Grand Lotus. 

It evaporated as soon as the door opened. 

Iroh sat, tea already steaming, waiting for Sokka. All he had to do was look at him and Sokka knew that he knew. 

Iroh said, “they didn’t come back.” 

And Sokka nodded. 

And then Iroh hugged him. Said he was proud of what they did so far, how many they had saved and inspired.

He was talking like they were already _dead_. And Sokka knew, in his bones, that they weren’t. They couldn’t be. 

So Sokka said, “We’re going to get them back.”

Iroh pulled back at that, his eyes shining, and noted the determined look in Sokka’s eyes. 

He didn’t mention who that look reminded him of. 

Instead he said, “Well then, young warrior, it looks like we have much planning to do.” 

///

So, they planned. 

They planned. They researched. They made contact with every rebellious group. (And yes, Iroh cried too, they both got little sleep, Team Avatar _mourned_ , but Sokka wouldn’t, that would mean admitting the worst had happened and Sokka was _not_ admitting it. If he wouldn’t admit it, then it just wouldn’t be true. That’s how that works, right?)

And a week later, Katara showed up. 

///

Sokka could have cried. He hadn’t cried since the comet, fuck, he hadn’t cried since his mom died but when he saw that blue parka, scorched and dirty in Iroh’s rooms, he could have cried. 

Instead, he tackled her. 

She barely managed to keep her balance and Sokka spent one second feeling that she was there, she was real, she was safe before pulling back and inspecting her, asking questions a mile a minute ‘Are you okay, are you injured, where are you injured, have you been eating, how did you get out, how did you get here, did anyone follow you, are you okay—”

She cut him off with a sudden hand over his mouth which, yeah, fair, was the only way to get him to shut up right then. 

“I’m fine Sokka,” she said, and then Sokka broke down. 

///

Later, sitting on the ground, drinking tea with Iroh, Sokka still with a protective arm around her shoulders since he was never _ever_ going to let go again, they talked about Zuko. 

“So,” Iroh said, “While it is wonderful to see you safe, Master Katara, I must ask about my nephew.”

Katara looked down, suddenly not making eye contact with anybody. 

“Is he...alive?”

“I don’t know.” Katara said, quietly. 

“You don’t know?” Sokka says, incredulously, and Katara jerked back and Sokka immediately regretted it, grabbed her hand, sad as he was, it was fine, it wasn’t her fault, of course, and if Iroh said anything, tried to blame her, Sokka would be more than happy to take on another firebending master. 

“I don’t…” Katara continued. “Azula knew I was coming. There was no water...anywhere. Even my own sweat, the water in the air, it was so hot that it just steamed away and—” Katara’s voice broke and Iroh reached across the table to grab her other hand, “He told me to leave. She shot him. With lightning. It was meant for me and he saved me and he told me to leave.” 

Katara started quietly crying at that point, and maybe Sokka was too, and maybe _Iroh_ was too. So, they sat in silence with only sniffling to fill the air. 

“Master Katara. Sad as I am to hear of what happened, you have brought me the greatest hope,” Iroh said, Katara and Sokka looking up in confusion, “Azula would not kill her brother. Not without her father’s blessing or any bid for his approval.”

Iroh couldn’t mean, possibly— 

“My nephew is alive.” 

Katara’s breath hitched and Sokka could feel his blood start to thrum in his veins again. 

They were going to get Zuko back. 

/// 

After Katara found the White Lotus, guilt came flooding back in. 

Zuko had sacrificed himself for her. If she hadn’t been there, if she hadn’t interfered, if she hadn't interrupted, if she had been stronger, if she had been smarter, if she had planned ahead just a little bit more, Zuko would still be here. 

And now he was...she couldn’t even imagine what Azula had done to him. (well, she could and that was what kept her from sleeping, kept her skin crawling at all hours of the day, so she wouldn’t think about it willingly, since it was all she could think about unwillingly).

Her will was gone. There was no one left to fight. Just herself and her past mistakes. 

Reuniting with her brother gave her that spark back, that memory of what she was, who she was defending, and what she went into battle for. 

However, hearing Iroh say that Zuko was alive, that gave her the fight back.

///

Surprisingly enough, the Fire Nation wasn’t...fighting. Not anymore. 

Which, Sokka seemed to think was surprisingly at least. Iroh met it with the same half-smile and said, “times are interesting, aren’t they?”

Which, like, Sokka had no idea what _that_ meant. 

However, when a messenger hawk arrives, trimmed in red with a big, fancy seal on the letter. The letter which says ‘blah blah blah The Avatar, The Heirs to the Southern Water Tribe, The Heir to the Beifong Estate, and The Leader of the Kyoshi Warriors and blah blah blah requested for diplomatic relations by order of the Fire Lord’ Sokka knew what that meant. 

That meant a trap. 

///

They went anyway, of course they went, the Fire Lord had Zuko. 

That being said, they had a plan. They had a Plan A, a Plan B, a Plan C, going all the way to I. They had White Lotus surrounding the Caldera. They had _plans_. 

They landed, uneventfully, just the five left of Team Avatar (with Iroh waiting in the wings, knowing every secret passageway through the palace and prepared to lead a whole escape force out of them). 

The servants gave unexplained, formal bows to them all, their heads bowed as they recited all of their _full_ titles and welcomed them to the palace. 

Which, of course, Sokka took in stride. He was familiar with Azula’s traps. They wouldn’t get comfortable again. 

Toph stepped forward, said the correct thing in Rich People Speak and off they went. 

They didn’t even have guards flanking them. Instead, a well-dressed guide led them, with two servants following, forcing them to fields of questions of ‘may I take your coat, your bags, your flasks, Master Katara (which the last one did _not_ go over well)’. 

Azula’s tricks were getting stranger, Sokka would give her that. 

Still, they got to the throne room. Before they opened the doors, the guide turned to them and said, “The Fire Lord has been waiting to see you. He is very excited to meet with you all.”

Sokka barely gets a chance to blurt out, “He?!” before the doors were opening and…

There Zuko was. 

The five-pointed-crown in his top knot, the regalia wrapped around him, his pupils wide enough to see from the other side of the room, reflecting the fire in front of him from the throne he sat on. 

In a mechanical, practiced, diplomatic voice that sounded so _wrong_ , that Zuko was incapable of producing he said

“Sokka. Aang. Toph. Suki. Katara. It is good to see you all. I have missed my old friends,” and _smiled_. 

Behind him, over his right shoulder, sat Azula, with choppy hair and a cruel smirk. 

On the left side, with the same tight smile that Zuko wore, sat Long Feng. 

Zuko continued, “Welcome to the Caldera. Don’t worry. Everyone is safe here.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, feel free to drop a comment, or [ hit me up on tumblr ](https://constallayetions.tumblr.com/)


End file.
